Jesus suffered so that I could Live

There are few films that evoke the kind of emotions in the viewer that may have been felt by those who witnessed the final hours of Jesus’ life like The Passion of the Christ.

We watched the movie as a church this evening. It is the first time that I have watched since it was released in 2004. And for good reason. I just couldn’t watch it again but I made myself tonight.

While I know that it is a movie, I could not distance myself emotionally from what was depicted. And I guess I should not be able to. There is something so disturbingly horrifying to what Jesus endured. While the movie attempts to capture the physical realities, and I think the movie does a good job of pulling you into the emotional turmoil, it is the spiritual weight of what was happening that left me staggering yet again.

There is simply or human no way of touching this. And yet, this is what I find myself, as a believer in the one who was crucified, sensing most poignantly. The freedom I feel because of my faith in Jesus is rooted in the sacrifice of the Son of God. The hope that I have that my soul has been redeemed has been purchased by the shed blood of the Lamb of God. The peace that I have experienced in times of difficulty has been released unto me because of the promises of the Prince of Peace.

The reality of Easter is that in and through the death of Jesus life awaits for those who place their trust in Him. If we are to recapture the power of the Gospel, if we are to see the body of Christ infused with zeal, if we are to return, as a people, to our first love, we must not run from the sacrifice of the King of Kings. As a matter of fact, we must run to it. We must embrace our own death to this world. First, spiritually by faith. But second, actually through our own deaths when we breathe our last breath and step into eternity. Death by crucifixion is the price Jesus paid to provide for us the way of salvation. Death, as a result of sin, is the price we pay to bring about the consummation of our faith.

I remember listening to a message given my Dr. John Piper about missions. As I listened, a phrase struck me to the quick. He was describing the excitement and enthusiasm of the missionaries he was with even as they prayed for those who were in harms way. Dr. Piper described the experience and admonished his listens to consider what it meant to go into the mission field. He was trying to provide a context for the kind of focus and passion we are to have when we consider our journey of faith and calling to go into the world to make disciples. Listen to what he said.

Golgotha is not a suburb of Jerusalem. “Let us go with him outside the gat and suffer with him and bear reproach” (Hebrews 13:13).[Source]

How many times have I been dismissive of Jesus’ sacrifice and of the call to follow him, even to the cross? I say “dismissive” because whenever my resolve wanes, whenever my focus is blurred, whenever my fear causes me to falter, I have forgotten what it cost for me to be adopted into the family of God. It takes intentionality to keep the reality of Jesus’ death in proper perspective. Many, including me, forget how persistent a fight it is to keep the faith.

As I watched the movie tonight I was reminded of how much I have yet to learn. How much I have yet to surrender. And, maybe worse of all, how little I have really given up for the cause of Christ. I pray my surrender would only deepen as we approach another Resurrection Sunday.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 7) | “Father, into your hands…”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Seventh Word

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. ⁴⁷Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49)

Meditation on the Seventh Word

Death, the final enemy, no longer has the power to terrorize or torment us. The only power death has over us is the power we give it. Those who have placed their trust in Christ can follow His lead into the presence of God. These are words of comfort; words of peace; words of instruction. The journey that Jesus has traveled has been long and, at times, difficult. But we see here in the final moments that the reward is worth the cost. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Jesus is dead. The hope of Glory seems to have been lost. We are left now with the heavy charge to contemplate these things.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 6) | “It is finished!”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Sixth Word

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished… (John 19:30)

Meditation on the Sixth Word

We are drawing to the end. Jesus has submitted himself to the full brunt and breadth of what God had intended in Jesus’ death. Jesus looks out toward the crowds, both in front of him and those generations yet unborn, and with the little bit of energy he has remaining he completes the work for which He was sent. There is nothing lacking or deficient in Christ sacrifice for our salvation. He has paid the full price and has closed the book on His work. Jesus has not faltered and he has not failed. “It is Finished!”